Characteristics and diagnosis rate of 5,630 subjects receiving SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests from Wuhan, China.

Shen, Na; Zhu, Yaowu; Wang, Xiong; Peng, Jing; Liu, Weiyong; Wang, Feng; Lu, Yanjun; Cheng, Liming; Sun, Ziyong

BACKGROUND The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a novel viral pneumonia (COVID-19), which is rapidly spreading in the world. The positive result of nucleic acid test is a golden criterion to confirm SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the detection features remain unclear. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis in 5,630 high-risk individuals receiving SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests in Wuhan, China, and investigated their characteristics and diagnosis rates. RESULTS The overall diagnosis rate was 34.7% (1,952/5,630). Male (P = 0.025) and older age (P = 2.525 × 10-39) were two significant risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection. People were generally susceptible, and most cases concentrated in people of 30- to 69-years-old. Besides, we investigated the association between diagnosis rate and the number of testing in 501 subjects. Results revealed a 1.27-fold improvement (35.5%/27.9%) of diagnosis rate from testing once to twice (P = 5.847 × 10-9), and a 1.43-fold improvement (39.9%/27.9%) from testing once to three times (P = 7.797 × 10-14). More than three testing times was not helpful for further improvement. However, this improvement was not observed in subjects with pneumonia (P = 0.097). CONCLUSION All populations are susceptible to SARS-Cov-2 infection, and male and older age are two significant risk factors. Increasing the number of testing could significantly improve diagnosis rates, except for subjects with pneumonia. It is recommended to test twice in those high-risk individuals whose results are negative for the first time, and to perform three testing times is better if available.